Joe Biden May Adjust Income Threshold for Third Stimulus Check in $1.9 Tn Relief Proposal - Newsweek

President Joe Biden has expressed willingness to change the income thresholds required for his proposed $1,400 stimulus check so that higher-earning Americans less affected by the economic downturn would not quality for the payment The move may help stave off congressional Republicans who have criticized his $1.9 trillion pandemic stimulus proposal for being too costly.

Biden's $1.9 million proposal includes not only the $1,400 stimulus checks, but also increasing unemployment benefits from $300 a week to $400, a rise in the national minimum wage, an expansion of paid leave, money for the safe reopening of schools, funding to help small businesses and state and local governments, as well as $160 billion for a national vaccination program.

However, the proposal garnered criticism from congressional Republicans, including for the stimulus checks.

On Monday, Biden said that he'd prefer to bill to be passed by a bipartisan congressional consensus to help remove "vitriol" bubbling between the parties, but was willing to consider alternative ways to pass the proposal if need be.